Young People and AIDS: Infected, Affected, and Effecting Change
young people and aids
By Wokie Weah, NYLC Senior Program Director and NYLC Youth Advisory Council Members Julia Sewell and Ruth Adu-gyamfi
Youths, 15-24, comprise one-half of all HIV/AIDS infections
worldwide, and most of the infected young people are likely to die
before they reach age 35. Many of those youths are also affected by a
host of related factors, including poverty, gender issues, and life in
a developing countries. Even here in the U.S., one-fourth of new HIV
infections are among youths under 21.
Although young people are disproportionately affected by
HIV/AIDS, they are also a major force fighting it. They offer some of
the most active voices in prevention efforts across the globe. With The
17th Annual International AIDS Day taking place on December 1, we
wanted to share some of those stories.
In Uganda, the youth-led organization Straight Talk is
credited, in part, for the country’s success in stemming the spread of
the disease over the past decade. Employing a dynamic multi-media
approach, teams of young people reach two million adolescents, and a
million parents and teachers every month. To get their message across,
they use radio programs, clubs, newspapers, interactive theater, and
school visits to confront the issue head-on. “Uganda has shown the
world how important it is to give kids the power of that knowledge,”
says Mary Nell Wegner, Senior Director of the New York-based NGO
Engender Health.
Similarly, in China, 19-year-old medical student Tang Kun
started the Peer Education Programme in 2002. Tapping university
medical resources, it trains and educates thousands of high school and
college students to prevent the spread of the disease and support those
who have AIDS.
Like these programs, NYLC’s Y-RISE: The HIV/AIDS and
Service-Learning Initiative is based on the premise that youths listen
best to other youths. Through The National Service-Learning Conference
and The National Youth Leadership Training, the program has trained and
mobilized youth peer educators to train others to prevent the spread of
HIV, and a new Y-RISE curriculum is about to be piloted in schools.
Members of NYLC’s Youth Advisory Council are also serving as peer
mentors and using literature, theater, humor, music, and storytelling
to educate others.
Around the world, the AIDS pandemic disproportionately
affects youths, but youths are also disproportionately effecting
change. On International AIDS Day, it’s important to recognize their
contributions.
